After the Rain
by Poddyful
Summary: With Niagra Falls pouring down his head and his face, Jackal is having a hard time trying to find his way home. Coupled with two brand new leg injuries, Jackal is stumped. And who to the rescue? Why, Akazawa, of course. [LCD sequel][One shot][Choco pair!]


No A/Ns, except that, again, lots of thanks and cookies go to BluePenguin, who served not only as a poker, but a muse and beta as well /luffs you/!

* * *

_**After the Rain**_

_Rain, rain, go away,_

_Come again another day…_

* * *

The grey clouds that fogged up the cerulean sky were only threatening them at practice, but right now, it was pouring hard. The heavens darkened dramatically, and every other step insured a soggy 'splash' every time a foot hit the ground. 

Little droplets of rain splattered onto Jackal's head, and not for the first time, he wondered dully if was a good thing that he always made the tribute to his old friend back up in Brazil.

He slipped slightly at his thoughts, and in doing so, caught his foot on a loosened paving, and it was only with the sensation of weightlessness did Jackal realise that yes, he was falling backwards…onto the flood on the ground.

He felt rather than heard his backside's impact with the concrete, and was winded for a few seconds, rear burning with pain.

It fucking hurt. Jackal's eyes had widened at the impact, and, though he was on one of the most formidable tennis teams in Japan, he still found his eyes watering, mixing with the waterfall bucketing down his face.

Dimly, he realised that no one had seen his little slip, and that if anything, he was being ignored in favour of getting under a sheltered area fast.

He gingerly tested his other body parts as he waited for the dull throbbing of his tailbone to subside. His whole body burnt with pain, and he thought that maybe on a clear day, he would have been sweating. From what, he didn't know.

Both his arms were all right, and he hadn't let anything else hit the ground save for his hands, which, as soon as he lifted one of them up, started to burn with the intensity of his backside.

His legs, however, were a totally different matter. In one of them, he had half twisted his knee, and he now found credit in the saying that knee injuries hurt the most. His other leg was alright, but perhaps due to a slight roll of his ankle, it was now bruised.

He cursed to himself at his carelessness. What would Sanada say now?

He sat there, stumped. He was unable to get up, and he felt somewhat helpless, feeling the people brush past him.

Suddenly, an outstretched arm appeared in his line of vision. Jackal stared at it for a second, dumbfounded, before his eyes trailed up from the arm to the person's broad chest, to his neck, and finally, he realised with somewhat of a mixture between hopefulness and horror, that it was Akazawa.

Jackal's eyes couldn't take the rain anymore, and he quickly looked down, carefully looking at his ankle.

"What…ah," Akazawa said, dropping down and balancing on his heels, as he rolled up one leg of Jackal's pants and inspected the damage.

His eyes narrowed, "Slipped?"

Jackal nodded, lost for words.

"Where are you going?"

The unexpected question caught Jackal off guard, and he blinked, "Huh?"

"Home?"

Jackal nodded dumbly. Akazawa looked at him for a second, before making his decision. In one smooth move, he slowly picked the shorter boy up, bridal style, careful to handle the injured knee delicately.

"W-what-" Jackal squeaked, and was immediately silenced by a look from Akazawa, who weaved through the crowd. Jackal felt his face burning up at this position. His brain, like the previous time, shut down and left him to his own device.

After weaving through a large and thoroughly harassed crowd, they reached a relatively empty street, where Jackal had finally worked up the nerve to talk.

"W-where are we going?" His voice sounded like he had been blowing up helium balloons all afternoon, and his blush, which had finally subsided after he got used to the idea that he was being carried bridal-style (by Akazawa, nonetheless!), had returned full force.

"My house," Akazawa replied neutrally, looking down at the smaller boy in his arms.

"W-why?!" He hadn't meant for it to come out as panicked as he'd said it, but Akazawa seemed not to mind.

"To dry off, and heal your injuries. Why else?" he asked in return, a bit of amusement finding its way back into his tone. Jackal's face burned.

"O-oh…"

The trip had been relatively quiet after that, and Jackal was tense with nerves.

_Eek. Akazawa Yoshirou's carrying me. Bridal style. Eek._

Akazawa noticed his tension, but didn't mention it. Whatever floats his boat. It would probably make his knees even worse.

They reached a medium sized house, the gate to which Akazawa produced the keys and proceeded to undo the lock to.

The interior of the house was like a lot of other typical Japanese houses, and Jackal who lives in a rather different house, found the simplicity and western-influence welcoming. There was apparently no one home, as no shouts of "Okaeri!" greeted them, and Akazawa didn't say, 'Tadaima' at all. Jackal didn't know what to think, as he was generally used to it. Maybe his parents worked late?

Upon meeting a door at the end of a hallway, Akazawa kicked it open and went in, not bothering to shut it once they were inside.

The room was rather small, and though mostly neat, had a few objects scattered here and there. There were some posters on the walls, and a computer sat quietly on a wooden desk, which took up the majority of one side of the room.

In two strides, Akazawa reached a plain-sheeted bed and gently placed Jackal on it, allowing time for the younger boy to adjust to a more comfortable position.

"Th-this is…?"

"My room," Akazawa answered. The familiar dull flush spread across Jackal's cheeks.

"O-oh…" He said intelligently, as he felt the side of the bed dent.

"Mm," Akazawa grunted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jackal wring his hands, thinking hard, finally making up his decision.

Jackal was the type whose thoughts showed up on his face, whatever the thought.

_Heh, how cute_.

"So…you're Brazilian," Jackal started awkwardly. Akazawa looked faintly amused and nodded lazily, meeting Jackal's gaze, continuing to look at his eyes even though Jackal had already blushed and looked away.

"Uh, so am I," Jackal said, hoping to rekindle the conversation. He was still determinedly _not _meeting the other's eyes, and apparently Akazawa enjoyed watching his new-found 'friend' squirm.

"I know."

The lazy smile on Akazawa's face grew broader as he watched Jackal panic. Finally, he decided that he should spare Jackal the energy, and slowly but casually slung an arm around his shoulder.

Jackal froze, whatever words that were about to leave his mouth hanging in mid-air.

_What do I do now what do I do now __**what do I do now?!**_

"A-ano…Akazawa-san-"

"Yoshi."

Jackal blinked, "What?"

"Call me Yoshi," Akazawa said, eyes meeting his. Jackal opened his mouth a few times, not sure of what to say.

"Yoshi," Akazawa repeated, standing up decidedly. Jackal nodded, blood flooding to his cheeks at an even faster pace. Must be all the practise.

All other thoughts came to a halt as Akazawa's hands went down to the hem of his shirt and he started to pull it upwards.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Jackal asked frantically, obviously flustered.

"My clothes are wet," Akazawa said, a hint of mirth in his voice, and his eyes lidded as he pulled the shirt over his head.

Jackal choked.

The boy standing in front of him was a Brazilian _God._ His broad shoulders were accentuated by his muscly biceps. Akazawa's chest was well toned, and while his hips were slim, it did nothing to take away from the fact that he had washboard abs. _Wah…an eight pack_, Jackal thought in a decidedly dazed fashion.

He watched a droplet of water slide from Akazawa's hair, down the side of his neck, and continued its journey down Akazawa's well-built pecs, down his stomach, and not stopping there…

"You're drooling."

Jackal's mind took quite a while to register this, and when it did, his blush came back full force. The phrase echoed in his mind. _You're __**drooling.**_

"Full body blush, huh?" Akazawa remarked, the comment serving to make Jackal redden deeper. He gabbled silently, opening his mouth to _say something_, for Heaven's sake!

Akazawa shook his head slightly, trying to draw out the water in vain. However, this action just proceeded to make the front part of his hair stick to his face. Jackal watched subconsciously as Akazawa blinked for a second, before he made a small sound of discontentment at the back of his throat.

The taller boy's smouldering chocolate eyes suddenly drew down and locked on his, and Jackal's mouth refused to work too, going on a blank with his brain, as the half-lidded eyes didn't take an obvious emotion at all.

Or so he thought. The warmth conveyed was still there, and that lazy look made Jackal shiver.

Still, as his eyes kept the heated gaze, his brain was flashing images of Akazawa's slick body, the water droplet sliding down and leaving a track on his tanned skin, only one thought registered in his brain.

_Gah…_

Suddenly, Akazawa turned his eyes away to look out the window, leaving Jackal with a small burning feeling at the back of his mind. Whether it was good or bad, Jackal did not know, but it was caused by the Brazilian God in front of him.

"I think you have a fever. Lie down for a while; I'm going to take a shower, and then we'll take a look at your injuries," Akazawa said, grabbing a pair of clothes and a towel.

Jackal gawked, "W-wait!"

Akazawa turned around, looking at Jackal.

When the other boy seemed to have lost his ability of speech, Akazawa helped. "Did you want to come in with me?"

"Wh-no! That's to say, I can't-I…not because I don't like you or something, but I-uh, can't! Because-"

Akazawa silenced him with a chuckle, shaking his head slightly, "Sleep. I'm only next door," he told him, gesturing at the join-on bathroom to his room,

Jackal fell silent as Akazawa went into the bathroom, not closing the door. After a few minutes, the sound of running water splashing on the tiles filled the room, and Jackal found the sound strangely soothing.

He was beginning to get sleepy.

So sleepy, in fact, that maybe he should just close his eyes for a _short _while…

_

* * *

_

_A strange wave of despair was settling over him. _

_It has already been an hour, and Jackal's personal knight, Akazawa-sama, still hasn't arrived to save him yet!_

"_And how are you tonight, my lovely princess?" came a slithery voice from beside him. Jackal couldn't help but cringe and flinch back as a claw traced his cheeks lightly, vaguely aware that he was on a bed of some sort. _

"_Go away," He whispered; hoping beyond all hope that Akazawa came to rescue him soon. The Evil in front of him was getting closer and closer._

"_Yoshi-sama…" Jackal said, a tear sliding down his cheek._

_Suddenly, galloping could be heard, and the door burst open to reveal that yes! Akazawa Yoshirou had come to Jackal's rescue!_

"_Die," Akazawa said to the Evil, smoting him with one slice of the tennis racquet. He picked Jackal up bridal-style, and lifted him gently onto his beautiful white stallion. _

_Jackal felt warmth welling in his chest, and he rested his head on Akazawa's chest, feeling content._

"_Yoshi-sama, you came to save me at last…"_

"_Of course, Ja-ku-ru-kun. I would never allow anything to harm you. I promised, remember?"_

"_Yes, Yoshi-sama…"_

A loud 'plonk' was what aroused Jackal from his slumber. He felt disorientated, and it showed when he opened his eyes; he felt almost dizzy, and a wave of tiredness swept over him. A small red alarm clock greeted him cheerfully.

_Damn you, whoever invented red. It's so tiring to look at…hang on a sec._

Suddenly, he realised where he was and quickly rolled around, instinct telling him to leave the knee where it was. Akazawa's face came into view.

"You were muttering my name in your sleep," Akazawa told him, decidedly amused.

Jackal gawked, and then blanched, "I was?"

"You were saying, 'Yoshi-sama, you came to save me at last'," Akazawa confirmed, laughter in his eyes.

Jackal coloured dramatically. _Crap_.

Akazawa changed tact. "How are you feeling?"

Jackal merely gazed at him. Akazawa stared back impassively, waiting for him to speak.

"Tired, nauseous, headache, and sick in general?" Akazawa asked, when Jackal didn't speak up, looking at the label on a little bottle. Jackal nodded apprehensively, looking warily at the little bottle. It looked vaguely familiar…

"Right. A dose of this, and then some sleep. I changed your clothes, by the way," Akazawa commented off-handedly.

"Thank-…wait, _what_?!" Jackal choked out, the automatic-brain-switch flicking off as soon as the nerves kicked in. Indeed, his new clothes were about five sizes too large for him, and the blue sleeves dropped down pathetically off his arm, exposing his shoulders, and a good deal of his chest.

One of the top buttons were undone, and Jackal had a sudden premonition that his clothes were about to fall off.

"You were shivering," Akazawa elaborated, looking at him languidly. Jackal gulped, before nodding.

_Ah, he looks so…__**edible**__ like that. Like chocolate…_

Akazawa debated on the merits of saying, "Nice Fruit-of-The-Looms too", or something incredibly amusing (for him, anyway) like that, but he decided that the patient with the fever was far too red to be healthy already.

_Little Chocolate Dragonfly…_

He unscrewed the lid of the bottle, and proceeded to measure out a spoonful of thick, purple syrup. His hands were quite steady as he held it towards Jackal.

Jackal looked at the bottle doubtfully, "Um, I think I'll be fine…"

"Open your mouth," Akazawa instructed him, raising an eyebrow when he shook his head vehemently. He had a phobia to any drink that was purple, thank you very much.

"Sure?" Akazawa asked, spoon still halfway between him and Jackal's mouth. Jackal nodded, a slight sense of uncertainty washing over him.

"Well then," Akazawa said, lifting the spoon into his mouth and licking off the sticky medicine.

"What-" Jackal started, but was suddenly stopped by soft lips pressing against his, tongue already dominating in the battlefield. He kissed back, wondering what that was about.

_He could get sick too!_

But somehow, that thought was pushed into the back of his mind as Akazawa suddenly started to use a bit more force. Jackal didn't resist as the kiss got more heated, but when the flavour hit, his eyes widened and he pulled back.

"Swallowed yet?"

Jackal flushed bright red, unsure of whether to think about the kiss, or the fact that Yoshi had just made him drink the medicine in such a creative way.

Akazawa merely laughed.

* * *

Supposedly fluff at the end. 

And they finally kissed, probably very anti-climatic, but hey, it's a crack pairing. Hee. (That's no excuse!)

Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
